Gas-generator.



1111113111111, J. w. TATRLET, T. 13.1111111511, w11. TRVTNT. al W. T.CHESTNUT.

GAS GENERATOR.

.121111011121011 TTLTD Tmm, 1911. 1,029,872, Patented June 18, 11912. sSHEETS-SHEET 1.

6% W. ttomeys COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON. n.' c.

J. KILBURN, J. W. FAIRLEY, T. B. KIDNER, W. H. IRVINE da W. T. CHESTNUT.GAS GENERATOR. APPLIGATION FILED TEILE, 15511.

Patented June 18, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Witnesses Attorneys COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.,\v^sH|NGTON, n. c,

J. EILBURN, J. W. EAIRLEY, T. B. KIDNER, W. H. IRVINE & W. T. CHESTNUT.GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED P2119, 1911.

Patented June 18, 1912.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3. 1? ,W A? /21 f i p as' C few f5 1 3 36 6 14*M 14 Q W35; .M 1'0"?n 3 @2736 a 55 4 E 2 \13 ...42 .-'91 .f .gm if@ ll 1 f4 4f/lT/ 1' 58 J ffl Witnesses Inventors Attorneys COLUMBIA FLANOGHMH co.,WASHINGTON, D4 C.

'having an annular perforated riNrrEn sraras rarENr ormoni.

JOI-IN KILBURN, JOI-IN WESLEY FAIRLEY, THOMAS BESSELL KIDNER, WILLIAMI-IER- BERT IRVINE, AND WILLIAM BRUNSWICK, CANADA, ASSIGNORS TO MONITORGAS GENERATOR COMPANY OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

GAS-GENERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented .I une 18, 1912.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, JOHN KILBURN, JoriN WESLEY FAIRLEY, THOMAS BEssELLKIDNEE, WILLIAM HERBERT IRVINE, and

lWILLIAM TURNBULL CHESTNUT, all residing in the city of Fredericton, inthe Province of N ew Brunswick, Canada, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Gas-Generators; and we do hereby declare that thefollowing' is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

rIhe invention to be hereinafter described relates to gas generators andparticularly to acetylene gas generators of the inverted bell variety.

In order to more clearly disclose the construction, operation, and useof the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawingsforming part of the present application.

Throughout the several figures of thedrawings like reference charactersdesignate the same parts.

@ur applications 637 ,097 and 637,098 both,

filed July 6th, 1911 show the subject matter of the claims in this case,and also show and claim divers other features herein shown anddescribed, but not claimed. IVe do not claim in this applicationanything claimed in either of the applications above mentioned.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the generator,complete; Fig. 2 is a left hand end view of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a verticallongitudinal section of the complete generator; Fig. 4 is an enlargedside elevation of the carbid chamber and attachments, as shown in Fig.1; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, looking toward the left of Fig.1; Fig. 6 is a top plan view of Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a plan view of thedrain cock, removed; and Fig. 8 is a front view of the closure retainingdevice.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 1 indicates a gas generating tankprovided with an upwardly extending neck 2 adapted to loosely receive aremovable cast iron collar supporting flange 3. Upon flange 3 rests asimilar and coperating flange of a corresponding collar similarly fittedabout and supporting the lower end of a removable carbid receptacle 4 ofusual and well known form.V The two annular flanges may be readily andsolidly connected by bolts or the like, as will be evident If desired,the collars may be soldered or otherwise solidly secured to the neck 2and the carbid receptacle 4. rIhe upper part of this generating tank isconnected by an elbow pipe 5 with a vertical gas delivery pipe-6 (Fig.3) which is adapted to deliver the gas to the interior of a bell 7slidably mounted in the gas tank 8. Gas may be drawn from the gas tankthrough the pipe 9, in the usual manner. Centrally arranged within thechamber 8 is a hollow guide tube or pipe 10 adapted to fit looselywithin a similar tube 11 extending downwardly from the top of the bell.The tube 11 is provided with a plurality of perforatioiis 12 arranged ata predetermined point below the top of the bell. I/Vhen the gas beneaththe bell forces it upward to such a point that the perforations 12 areabove the surface of the water, the excess gas will escape through theperforations and out through the tube 10 to the lower compartment of thetank 8 and thence through an opening 42 by a pipe to the flue 41, andthence by afsuitable vent pipe to the outside of the building in whichthe generator is placed. In this way, the gas bell cannot be raised, bythe gas, beyond a predetermined point.

In order to cut olf the generation of gas at the proper time, it isnecessary to stop the feed of carbid to the generating tank. For thispurpose, an' operating lever 13 (Fig. l) has been provided. 'Ihe longend of this lever is adjustably connected to an easily fusible strap onthe top of bell 7 by means of a threaded rod 56 andcooperating nut 57which may be a winged thumb nut as shown in Fig. 1 or a slightlymodified form as shown in Fig. 3. This lever is fulcrumed on the top ofa cup shaped cap 14 provided `with an annular, perforated, supportingflange 15adapted to rest upon and cooperate with a similar flange 10formed on and extending from a ring 17 which is removably seated in acircular opening in the top of the carbid receptacle 4. The ring isadapted to support a cylindrical flanged guard tube 18 extendingdownwardly within the receptacle to within a short distance of thebottom, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The cap 14 and flange 1G aredetachably and securely connected by bolts or the like passed thro-ughthe perforations of their fianges. The short end of lever 13 isbifurcated and longitudinally slotted. One arm 19 of the bifurcated endof the lever is pivoted to the lever at 20, to swing laterallytherefrom. A threaded rod 21 projects through the slot of the lever 13and is provided with an adjusting nut 22 screwed down thereon. Normally,the arm 19 is held in operative position by means of a rockable yoke 23provided with off set arms 24 and 25 and pivotallyv mounted on the endof the stationary arm of the lever 13. The voke is provided with a notchor recess adapted to receive or seat the end of the movable arm 19 andhold it parallel with the fixed arm of the lever, thereby supporting thenut 22. off set arm 24 underlies a horizontal rock shaft 2G revolublyjournaled in a suitable bearing formed as a part of one side of the cap14. This shaft is provided with an outer arm 27 detachably connectedthereto, and an inner arm 23 which projects downwardly within the guardtube 13. The outer arm is pivotally connected to the lower end of therod 21 and the inner arm is pivotally connected to the upper end of avalve rod 29, on the lower end of which is fixed a plug valve 30,preferably rubber faced, adapted to close the discharge or deliveryopening for delivering carbid to the interior of the generating tank.Slidably mounted on the valve rod 29, above the plug valve 30, is a cupshaped valve 31 adapted to seat itself, by gravity, slightly in advanceof the plug` valve 30 and to remain seated a short while after the plugvalve has been lifted. The result of this construction is, that as soonas the bell 7 falls below a predetermined point, the short bifurcatedend of the lever 13 will be raised, carrying with it the rod 21 and thusraising the valves 30 and 31 to permit carbid to drop from thereceptacle 4 to the generating tank 1. The bell then rises as a resultof the gas just generated. In this way, the quantity or supply of gasgenerated is kept fairly constant. Should an excess quantity be suddenlygenerated, the bell will rise until the excess may escape through theperforations 12 and pipe 10 into the lower compartment of the gas tank.Should the supply of carbid in the receptacle 4 become exhausted and allthe gas in the bell 7 be used, it is advisable, of course, to close thedelivery opening of the carbid receptacle by seating the valves. This iseffected automatically by engagement of the rock shaft 26 by the olf setarm 24, as the short end of lever 13 rises, due to the drop of the bell7 As soon as the off set arm 24 engages the rock shaft 26, the yoke 23will be rocked on its pivot and the arm 19 will be freed, easily movingout to inoperative position, thus breaking connection between rod 21 andlever 13 and allowing the lever end to rise while the rod drops. Valves30 and 31, of course, seat themselves by gravity, as soon as theconnection is thus broken. Consequently, under such circumstances, thevalves will be closed and remain closed until recharging. In this way,no moisture can pass from the generating tank to the interior of thecarbid receptacle, even though the apparatus'remain unused for a veryconsiderable period.

In order to insure, with absolute certainty, the seating of the valvesbefore recharging of the carbid receptacle, the closure plug 32 is heldin plac-e by a threaded rod 33 provided with a wide head or hand wheel34 and threaded through a yoke 35 mounted to swing above the plug 32-seeFig. S. Above this head extends the arm 36 0f a rod 37 mounted to slidevertically in the bearing or guide 33 fixed to the re ceptaele 4.Downwardly curved fingers 39 extend laterally from the arm 36 and liedirectly over the head 34 and beneath the off set arm 25-between the offset arm 25 and head 34. Consequently, whenever the head 34 rises, as therod 33 is screwed upwardly to release the plug 32, said head will engagethe fingers 39 and arm 36 and carry them upwardly into engagement withthe off set arm 25, thus rocking the yoke 23 and freeing the arm 19, topermit the valves 30 and 31 to seat themselves and so cut of' the feedof carbid during recharging of the receptacle.

In order to avoid excessive pressurein theupper part of the generatingtank 1, a safety tube 40 has been provided. This tube extends downwardlythrough the top of tank 1 and its lower end project-s below the normalwater line in the tank. The upper end of the tube communicates with anescape flue 41, and thence by a suitable vent pipe before mentioned tothe outside of the building in which the generator is placed.Consequently, when the gas pressure in the generator tank exceeds apredetermined point, water will be forced upwardly through a tubularhollow agitator rod 43 and its casing 44 to a suiiicient extent touncover the lower end of tube 40' and thereby permit escape of theexcess gas, without causing siphoning of the water in the gas tank, asheretofore.

It is essential, of course, to provide means for the escape of the airand gas mixture from the generating tank during recharging, and duringthe emptying of the generating tank-this operation is more commonlyknown as venting the generating tank. For this purpose, a by-pass 45 ispro? is'e vided. One end of this yby-pass communi- Cates with the upperend of the escape flue 4l while the opposite end projects downwardlythrough the top of the generator tank. At a point just above its passagethrough the top of the generator tank, the by-pass communicates with theelbow pipe 5, At a point just above this connection, the by-pass isprovided with a turn plug or valve 46 adapted to control passage offluid therethrough. vWhen the turn plug or valve 46 'is open, the fluidwill pass through the by-pass and escape into the flue 4l and thence tothe outer air. 7When closed, the gas generated in the generating tankwill pass, by way of elbow pipe 5, into the gas tank. To eii'ect openingof this plug or valve,`during charging of the carbid receptacle, theplug is provided with an operat-ing handle 47 which-is. exiblyconnected, by chain or like device 48, to the lower end of the slidingrod 37. The result is, that whenever the rod 37 is-raised forrecharging, the valve 46 will be' opened and the chamber l will bevented. On the other hand, the rotary drain plug 49 is provided with ahandle 50 which is connected by a rod 5l with the handle 47. Theconnection between the rod 5l and handle 47 is in the nature ofpin-and-slot. The handle 47 is provided with a hand grip 52 the shank ofwhich rests in the bottom of the slot or yoke 53 when the two valves orplugs 46 and l49 are in closed position. Consequently, when the handle50 is swung upwardly to open plug 49, the rod 51 will operate handle 47to open plug' 46 and thereby vent the generator tank. When the handle 50is drawn down to close plug or valve 49, the handle 47 will not beoperated and the valve or plug 46 will remain open until operatedindependent-ly by the grip 52, after the tank l has been filled. Thisventing of the generating chamber, of course, prevents siphoning of thewater from the gas tank, as heretofore.

One particular advantage of having the agitator 43 made as a hollow tubeis that it may then be used for filling the tank l with water.

In order to determine when the water in the tank has reached its properlevel, a gage cock 54 is provided. This gage cock is extended throughthe wall of tank l and the wall of the agitator casing and communicateswith the interior of the casing.

If desired, an outlet or escape may be provided whereby accumulated air,gas, or mixture of the same, may pass out fromthe lower compartment ofthe gas tank 9.

One particular advantage of the cap 14 and its connected parts is theease and quickness with which it may be removed for inspection,

Another important feature is the placing of all operating parts on theexterior of the apparatus where they are easily accessible and wherethey may be quickly renewed, or repaired, when desired.

Y It is thought that the operation and use of the invention will beclear from the preceding' detailed description.

Changes may be made in the construction, arrangement, and disposition ofthe several parts of the invention without in any way departing from thefield and scope of the same and it is meant to include all such withinthis application wherein only a preferred form has been disclosed.

l. A carbid receptacle having a charging opening, in combination with agenerating' tank supplied by said tank and having a drain outlet, a gasfrom said generating tank, a valve governing the iiow through said pipeor by-pass at will, a valve for said drainage outlet, a closure for thecharging opening, means for holding said closure in operative position,but adapted to free the same at will and a rod operatively connected tothe valves for the by pass and the drainage outlet and provided withfingers extending over said means for holding the closure in order thatthe free-ing of the latter may also operate the said valves.

2. In combination with a carbid receptacle and a genera-ting tanksupplied thereby, a gas tank having a gas bell therein, a lever operatedby the rising of said bell, a valve controlling the outflow of saidcarbid receptacle and provided with a rod which extends up between amovable part of said lever and a neighboring relatively fixed part ofthe latter, a pivoted yoke provided with a notch normally engaging saidmovable part to hold it in place on said rod, a rockshaft arranged overa part of said yoke and adapted to move said yoke out of engagement whensaid yoke is raised into contact therewith, and means connecting saidrockshaft to said lever to cause such rocking motion, the said yokerising and falling with one of the arms of said lever, substantially asset forth.

3. A carbid receptacle, a generating tank and a feed valve between them,in combination with releasable means for suspending said valve, amovable yoke controlling such means and provided with an offset arm,stationary means adapted to engage and operate said yoke torelease saidvalve, a sliding r`od adapted to move said yoke into position to be thusactuated and means for raising said sliding rod into such positionsubstantially as set forth.

4. In combination with a carbid receptacle, a generator tank suppliedthereby and a valve adapted to cut-oft communication between them, a gastank supplied by said generator tank and having a rising and fallpipeand by-pass leading ing bell and provided with a relatively fixed partand a relatively movable part, a lever moving with said bell, a pivotedyoke provided with an offset mounted on said lever and normally holdingsaid parts to grip the stem of said valve, an adjustable part which actson said yoke to move it into a different position, a rock-shaft arrangedfor contact wit-h said offset in such position and adapted to actthereon for tilting said yoke and freeing said valve in order that itmay fall and seat itself, said adjustable part also simultaneouslyfreeing the closure of the carbid receptacle.

5. In combination with a carbid receptacle, a generator tank suppliedthereby and a valve adapted to cut ofi1 communication between them, agastank supplied by said generator tank and provided wit-h a bell, a leverrising and falling with said bell and provided with separable grippingmeans for the rod of said valve, ing said parts together, a rock-shaftoperated by said lever, a vertically adjustable screw, a vent valve anddrain valve for said generator tank, a rod connected to these lattervalves and arranged to be lifted by said screw for operating them, thesaid screw being arranged to move said yoke into position for contactwith said rock-shaft in order that the latter may operate it to free thefirst mentioned valve.

6. A carbid receptacle having a closure for its charging opening and a.generating tank supplied thereby, in combination with a gas tank, a bellmovable in the latter, a pipe conveying gas from the former tank to thelatter, a lever operated by said bell and having a laterally movablepart, a valve normally suspended by Said lever, but released by thelateral movement of said part and arranged on such release to fall andcut off carbid from said generating tank, a mova yoke normally holdableyoke normally holding said 'laterally movable part in operativeposition, a rocking device, means for moving said yoke into contact withsaid rocking device and thereby causing said yoke to rock. on its pivotand release said laterally movable part and means carried by saidrock-shaft for operating said carbid feeding valve substantially as setforth.

7. A carbid receptacle having a charging opening and an outlet opening,in combination with a gas generating tank supplied thereby, a gas tank,a gas pipe Connecting the t-wo tanks, an escape flue, a by-passconnecting said pipe to said flue, a valve in said by-pass directing thegas alternately to said gas tank or said flue, a handle for said valve,a sliding rod, a flexible connection between said rod and handle, aclosure for said charging opening, means removable at will from saidclosure but normally holding it in place and means, attached to andmovable with said rod, arranged to be engaged and lifted by said closureholding means, a valve for cutting off the flow of carbid to the gasgenerating tank, devices for supporting the latter valve out ofengagement, a movable yoke normally holding such devices in engaging andsuspension position, and means for acting on said yoke to free saidsupporting devices and the latter valve and permitting the descent ofthe latter.

In witness whereof We have hereunto set our hands in the presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN KILBURN.

JOHN WESLEY EAIRLEY. THOMAS BESSELL KIDNER. WILLIAM HERBERT IRVINE.WILLIAM TURNBULL CHESTNUT.

l'Vitnesses I. C. ANDULER, F. W. BARBOUR.

Copies of this patent Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

